A centuries-old local tradition of giving livestock to families in need is being used today to empower women of the Gutu Dobi village of southern Ethiopia. The gift of a goat can significantly help a woman as the traditional head of household: Goats reproduce quickly and make milk that will nourish families.

Can risk management techniques from global financial markets help people in the developing world avoid the worst effects of famine? The World Food Programme's new director of business planning thinks this approach could revolutionize the aid industry.

Stephan Fayon, director of an international seed bank in Auroville, India, explains how preserving the diversity of seeds insures against the breakdown of large-scale industrial agriculture. Today the supermarkets in the developed world are full -- but if unsustainable systems of agriculture collapse, will we know how to nourish ourselves? 

The Sekem Farm is an ecological paradise in the middle of the Egyptian desert. Both a thriving business and close-knit community, nothing is lost here, and a delicately balanced relationship between workers and nature has been established. With predictions of the world's population rising to 9 billion by 2050, Dr. Abouleish's ambitious vision may well be the future of farming.

Coffee has become a powerful economic driver for Rwanda, but how have the country's farmers managed to transform their crop into a premium product that can command top prices? The answer lies in washing stations and bicycles.

Soaring food prices are making life hard for people everywhere. In Mexico, many families are taking the fight against the global food crisis into their own hands. 

Water scarcity has become one of the world's greatest challenges. In less than 20 years, nearly two billion people could face shortages. But Azerbaijan, which sits between Europe and Western Asia, has come up with an ingenious solution to its water crisis by looking to its past for inspiration. 

Thousands of farmers in Peru who produced coca illegally for the drug trade are being helped to find a more sustainable—and safer—alternative.

Is peanut butter the answer to childhood malnournishment? In Haiti, a locally made fortified food is helping to save babies' lives.

Massive investment, modern agricultural techniques, regulated irrigation ... the American-owned Dominion Farms development in Kenya sounds like a model example of collaboration between Africa and the West. But local farmers disagree, and are campaigning hard to have their dissenting voices heard.

Pastoralist communities in Ethiopia are being hit hard by global climate change, a problem these nomadic people did nothing to create. By working with the local government and NGOs, they are finding ways to adapt and solve the challenges they face.